Balto. Co. firefighter sentenced to prison for abusing boys

Baltimore County firefighter Anthony Maurice Cottle, 24, was sentenced to 16 years in prison for sexually abusing two boys.

Baltimore County firefighter Anthony Maurice Cottle, 24, was sentenced to 16 years in prison for sexually abusing two boys. (Baltimore County Police Department photo)

Kevin Rector, The Baltimore Sun

A former Baltimore County firefighter from Owings Mills was sentenced in federal court to 16 years in prison late Thursday for recording his sexual abuse of two boys and soliciting and storing images of several others, according to Maryland U.S. Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein's office.

Anthony Maurice Cottle, 24, sexually abused two boys last summer while living in the family home of one of them in Halethorpe, police and prosecutors said. He also produced videos depicting both of the boys' genitals, and him performing a sex act on one of the boys, prosecutors said.

Last month, Cottle was given a separate 15-year prison sentence for the sexual abuse of the boys by a judge in state court.

An investigation also revealed that Cottle had solicited images of multiple other juvenile victims, and more than 600 images of child pornography were located on his computer and cell phone, prosecutors said.

"Cottle admitted that on some occasions he used video chat to capture the image live, and on other occasions the minor would send a photograph by cell phone," prosecutors said in announcing the sentence.

Cottle was arrested in October after one of the victims came forward. At the time, he was suspended by the Baltimore County Fire Department, where he was a probationary firefighter, and by the Lansdowne Volunteer Fire Department, where he was an active volunteer.

In addition to the prison sentence on the charges of sexual exploitation of a minor to produce child pornography and possession of child pornography, U.S. District Judge Ellen L. Hollander also ordered Cottle to remain under supervised release for the rest of his life once his prison term is served, prosecutors said.